


Mercury and Theodore

by dragon_with_a_teacup



Series: Fowl Omens: The Nice and Fluffy Adventures of Mercury J. Crowley, Duck [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: AU of my own AU I guess, Cuddling & Snuggling, Ducks, Fluff, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Mercury J Crowley, Theodore the mouse, mouse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24183766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_with_a_teacup/pseuds/dragon_with_a_teacup
Summary: “Ah, I see you’ve met Theodore!”Crowley lifts an eyebrow. “Theodore?”At the sound of his name, the mouse perks up and makes a soft chirping sound. In Aziraphale’s arms, Mercury stiffens in response, and her bright eyes latch onto the mouse.Russian translation now available!
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Fowl Omens: The Nice and Fluffy Adventures of Mercury J. Crowley, Duck [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741162
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	Mercury and Theodore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MovesLikeBucky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MovesLikeBucky/gifts).



> This is kind of an AU within my Mercury-verse and I guess also an AU of MovesLikeBucky’s brilliant fic [When All This Is Over…](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24173338). Thanks for letting me borrow your OC!
> 
> I wrote this when I should have been doing my actual work from home and then barely edited it. But here, have a short silly story!
> 
> Also, check out Duplii's Russian translation of this fic [right here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9891288)!

Crowley strides into the bookshop one day with Mercury in his arms. “Angel!” he calls.

“Crowley!” Aziraphale sounds delighted. “What a lovely surprise! Is Mercury with you?”

He scoffs. “Of course. I’d never hear the end of it if I’d come alone…”

Aziraphale appears from the back of the shop, beaming. “Hello, darling,” he directs at Mercury. He steps close to Crowley, taking the duckling out of his arms and stroking her, with barely a glance at Crowley. “How are you, sweet little one?”

_Peep! Peep! Peep!_

Mercury flutters her tail contentedly. Crowley glares at the pair of them.

“Nice to see you too…” he mutters, stalking off into the stacks. He knows he’s being a bit dramatic and jealous, but he’s a demon. That sort of thing is expected, isn’t it?

“Oh, Crowley…” Aziraphale’s footsteps follow him. “Come back, my dear, forgive me.”

But Crowley has come to a halt before Aziraphale’s desk. Atop a pile of papers sits… a mouse. It’s nestled in a veritable nest of paper scraps, nibbling on a piece of something that looks like it might have once been crepe.

“Er…” is Crowley’s reaction.

“What is it?” Aziraphale asks, moving to stand at his side. “Ah, I see you’ve met Theodore!”

Crowley lifts an eyebrow. “Theodore?”

At the sound of the name, the mouse perks up and makes a soft chirping sound. In Aziraphale’s arms, Mercury stiffens in response, and her bright eyes latch onto the mouse. She peeps suspiciously, tilting her head. In turn, Theodore stares back, whispers quivering.

“Why,” Crowley asks, feeling that this is an absurd role reversal from when Aziraphale had discovered Mercury, “do you have a mouse as a flatmate?”

Aziraphale purses his lips, lifting his chin in a defiant way. “He came here to seek shelter, if you must know. I could hardly turn him away, he’s such a polite guest.”

Theodore is sniffing in Mercury’s direction, which Crowley simply cannot abide. He takes the duckling back from Aziraphale, holding her to his own chest protectively.

“It didn’t occur to you that this bookshop is already claimed?” Crowley asks.

“I don’t see why they can’t coexist!” Aziraphale retorts. “You and I do, after all.”

“Yeah, but we’re dating. That’s different.”

Aziraphale shakes his head, exasperated, and scoops Theodore out of his nest. “Well, we’ll just see who’s right.”

He guides Crowley to an open patch of floor and kneels. Theodore skitters out of his hands onto the rug, but edges back toward the angel when Crowley also lowers himself down. Mercury, meanwhile, wriggles in Crowley’s grasp, and so he lets her go.

She tumbles onto the floor with far less grace than the mouse had, but straightens quickly. Immediately, she and Theodore are eyeing one another with skepticism. Crowley watches with apprehension. He has no idea, really, how Mercury will react to this interloper.

“Go on, Theodore,” Aziraphale coaxes. “Meet your new friend, Mercury.”

Theodore steps forward and sniffs at Mercury, who promptly lets out a shrill peep, flapping her minuscule wings in warning. Theodore chitters in terror and dashes off.

And Mercury is right behind him, in triumphant pursuit.

“Oh, dear,” Aziraphale frets.

Crowley smirks. “Well, what do you expect from a demonic waterfowl?”

— — —

An hour later, Crowley has grown bored of the show. There are only so many times, after all, that one can watch a duckling chase a mouse between bookshelves before it gets a bit repetitive.

He stands and wanders off in search of Aziraphale, who had retreated shortly after the chase had ensued.

“Goose, don’t terrorize him too much,” he mutters in Mercury’s direction as he leaves. “Aziraphale won’t be happy.”

Unsurprisingly, Aziraphale has settled on the couch with a cup of tea and a book. However, there is a crease in his brow that seems to deepen every time one of the animals makes a noise.

Crowley feels a twinge of guilt that he quickly tamps down. He slinks onto the couch, insinuating his head onto Aziraphale’s lap.

“Hey, Angel.”

Aziraphale spares him a brief glance. “Hello, dear.”

His flat tone has Crowley nuzzling closer, trying to summon some contrition to his voice. “I didn’t _tell_ her to chase him, y’know.”

“Yes, well.”

“Oh, Aziraphale, c’mon…”

Aziraphale turns a page. Crowley slumps, staring forlornly at the buttons of Aziraphale’s waistcoat. He doesn’t like it when Aziraphale is displeased with him, but considering this is more about Mercury’s nature than his own, he doesn’t know how to fix it. He can’t control her _every_ move.

A minute later, the chirping and squeaking move closer. A raucous assortment of skitter-patter sounds move into the room, then out again.

To Crowley’s surprise, Aziraphale chuckles. “Crowley, look.”

He twists about, and catches a glimpse of the animals before they round a corner. That glimpse is enough, however; he sees clearly how the tables have turned.

Theodore is now pursuing Mercury.

“Huh,” Crowley says.

Aziraphale starts stroking Crowley’s hair. “You see? Theodore can hold his own.”

— — —

Despite the cacophony, Crowley drifts off sometime that afternoon, his head still pillowed on Aziraphale’s lap. By the time he wakes, the London sky has darkened to a deep azure, and the bookshop has fallen silent.

“Wuz goin’ on?” He lifts his head, gazes around through bleary eyes. Neither Mercury nor Theodore are within sight.

“I believe they have reached an armistice,” Aziraphale says. He finds Crowley’s hand and squeezes it. “Did you have a nice nap?”

Crowley nods and sits up, brushing his hair out of his face. Aziraphale meets his gaze and smiles, and the softness in his expression pushes Crowley into speech before he can consider matters like sentence structure.

“I’m sorry, y’know, for Mercury, and the chasing, and all. You’re allowed to have animals, erm, that aren’t her, around. ’S your place.”

“Thank you, Crowley, but really, it’s all right.” Aziraphale kisses his cheek. “I’m only sorry they don’t seem to be getting along. But he was all alone, I could hardly abandon him, or force him out into the wild. It’s a city, it’s dangerous. And he seemed lonely—”

“I know.” Crowley nods. He’d gone through the same dilemma with Mercury. Of course, she is also a good minion, which makes keeping her simply logical. It’s more Aziraphale’s job to consider things like whether or not the animals were lonely.

Besides, if Crowley has Mercury, who is he to deny Aziraphale having Theodore?

“Where are they, anyway?” he asks. “They’re being awfully quiet…”

Concern flickers in Aziraphale’s eyes. “Truth be told, I don’t know. I hope that doesn’t mean anything bad has happened…”

Crowley is on his feet in an instant. “You and I both know Mercury well enough by now to know that silence means mischief. Dunno about Theodore, but _she_ is definitely up to something…”

He hurries through the shelves, Aziraphale on his heels. Crowley scans through the stacks, peers around corners, seeking the telltale silhouette of their duckling or the swish of a mouse tail. He strains to hear a peep, or a squeak, but there is nothing.

Visions of disaster start to pester him—what if they’ve become trapped under a pile of books? What if they’ve escaped the bookshop and are loose in London? What if they’ve injured themselves?

“Wait, Crowley.” Aziraphale grasps his arm, stilling him. Crowley turns. Aziraphale has lifted a finger to his lips and is clearly listening to something. To what, Crowley isn’t sure, and he cocks his head in an attempt to hear it too.

There. Barely audible, but definitely there, is the sound of quiet breathing.

Aziraphale eases them around the corner, and Crowley finds them facing the desk, just as they had this morning. Atop that same pile of papers, in that same nest, Mercury and Theodore are curled up together, fast asleep.

“Oh,” Aziraphale breathes, his hand pressed over his heart. “How sweet…”

Crowley musters a scowl and a derisive noise. “This is your angelic influence. Always interfering with my parenting…”

Aziraphale beams at him, having the absolute audacity to look as if he doesn’t believe Crowley for an instant. “Of course, dear.”

To get that knowing, teasing look off his face, Crowley kisses him.

And in front of them, new friends Mercury and Theodore slumber on.

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely Tarek_giverofcookies made some [FANTASTIC art](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/686804408927125524/710577816760090654/My_document_4.jpg) of the last scene!


End file.
